In the dental industry, dental lights, also known as dental operating lights or dental operating luminaries, are used to illuminate a patient's mouth (oral cavity) while dental procedures are performed. For example, dental lights assist in the examination and diagnosis of patients, tooth reduction and preparation, color-shade matching, and restoration.
Current dental lights use predominantly incandescent or quartz-halogen bulbs as the light source. These sources are also commonly used with reflectors, such as mirrors or other reflective surfaces. Light emitting diode (LED) light sources have several advantages over these light sources, including longer life, lower power consumption, and greatly reduced radiant heat.
There are, however, several challenges to implementing LED light sources in dental lights. For example, quality of light is important in various dental applications. The color rendering index (CRI) of an LED is typically lower than that of conventional light sources, making it difficult for dentists to examine for soft tissue pathology and to perform color-shade matching with LED light.
Another design concern is that the dental light should create a light pattern that reduces operator and patient discomfort. For example, it is desirable to reduce operator eye fatigue, to reduce shadowing, and to reduce light incident on the patient's eyes. Thus, there are several important considerations to take into account in the design of an LED dental light.